Love Will Leave A Mark
by TheGirlWithNoIQ
Summary: When her grandchild asks about a scar, Hinata finds herself telling him about how she got to know Gaara, the Kazekage of Suna, and how she fell in love. About how she experienced both happiness and sadness, and indescribabel pain by words. About how her heart broke and never truly healed. And all this in just two weeks. /GaaHina/
1. Prologue

**Hello! After a long break, I'm finally up with a new fic! :D **

**I have written seven chapters, this sorta prologue included, and I have the ending worked out. So, if not something totally unexpected happens, I will update quickly! **

**Though, I have no update schedule at the moment...so...**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than the idea!**_

**Read and enjoy~!"**

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She had long ago lost her sight but Hinata still knew who it was that came through the door of her little shop, sprinting towards her with small but eager steps.

She stopped knitting and laid it aside, just as she heard; "Granny, guess what!"

She turned her head and smiled, though seeing anything other than black, and asked, "What?" towards where she knew her grandchild was standing.

"I'm getting a little sister! Mom said I was getting a little sister!" she heard his octaves rise and guessed he was too happy to care he was practically shouting.

"Really?" she asked, faking surprise, though she had known it a week before her own daughter had the slightest clue.

"Yes!" the child cried out, jumping by the sound of feet landing on the floor and Hinata let out a small laugh of his antics.

"I'm a big brother…soon. Granny, do you know when she will come?" he asked, and couldn't hide his anticipation.

"Hmm…she will come when she's ready, and I think she will be ready in a few more months. Now Hikaru; can an old woman get a hug from her grandchild?"

Hands desperately climbed up her legs before they settled on her lap. Hinata smiled and helped him up, hearing his voiceless plea. Seconds later she was engulfed in a hug, hair she knew was the bright colour of red teasing her nose before his head settled on her shoulder.

The old woman and her grandchild stayed like this for a while, silently enjoying the embrace before Hikaru asked curiously, "Granny, how did you get the scar on your ring finger?"

To further show what he meant, a small hand brushed her right ring finger, where she knew a thin white scar ran around where rings used to be.

"Oh this?" she asked, though she already knew that it was, "I got it a long time ago."

"Why?"

"It's a long story…"

"I've got time. Mom went to the mall; it will be _hours_ until she's done shopping."

Hinata smiled then, and ruffled his hair. "Do you really want to know?"

He nodded, though she couldn't see it. She went silent; remembering a time long ago that had been forgotten though was easy to remember again.

"Granny?" Hikaru asked, she had been silent for a while now, and children didn't like silence much.

"Huh?"

"When…why did you get the scar… how?" it was as he was afraid to ask.

"It's a long story," she repeated, getting an impatient "I know" back.

". . . I feel in love. And as you will experience in some years; love will leave a mark. Mine was this scar," she brushed it to show him, "and a few, more invisible marks than normal people."

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**So, what do you think? Does it sound interesting? I will probably have the next chapter, (chapter 1), ready tomorrow, so the next update comes quick. :D  
**

**Please tell me what you think! :D**


	2. Chapter 1

**Yay! The first real chapter! :D I hope you liked the prologue enough to continue reading, and that you will like this one as well. **

**3/10 (Lol, I'm going to note the date when I upload each chapter so that I (and you) can check how long it roughly takes between each update.)**

**Some info before you start reading:**

_Words written like this is present time. Hinata is a grandmother talking to her grandson. Everything she says here are things she tells him._

Normal letters are what happened in the past; what Hinata thinks and so. She doesn't tell Hikaru this, it is all what she remembers.

**It's probably more, but I can't remember at the moment.**

**Read and Enjoy~!**

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"_Are you sitting comfy? This story is long; you are the first one I'm telling it to."_

"_The _first_?" Hikaru sounded surprised, "you haven't told mommy?"_

_Hinata shook her head and smiled, although sad, "It's a difficult story. It would pain her if she knew and I've never found the right time to say it…."_

"_You haven't dared?" Hikaru guessed and felt sorry for her._

"_You can say that."_

_Silence, Hikaru shifted in her lap, "I'm ready when you will tell it, Granny. I will listen."_

_Hinata smiled then, and ruffled his hair before slowly gathering her thoughts in enough order to start her story. _

"_It was a long time ago, I was eighteen, nearing nineteen and had gotten an important mission from the Hokage at that time, Lady Tsunade."_

_-.-_

I hurried to the Hokage's office as soon as I got her request, as good as stumbling in.

My breathing was quick and I knew my cheeks were the colour red and that they got darker when I realised Lady Tsunade wasn't alone as I'd thought.

Sakura, Naruto, Shino and Shikamaru was standing near Tsunade's desk, I slowly went and took a place by Shino.

"Ah, Hinata, there you are. Well, since we're all here, I can start telling you your mission. It's S-rank, so be careful."

Five pair of heads looked at the Hokage who started to explain.

"_It was S-rank and very dangerous. I remember how I had wondered why no Jonin was with us before I remembered that both Shikamaru and Shino had become it a few months earlier."_

"Relationships between countries aren't very good as you all know. And the roads aren't safe to travel.I have a very important message to the Kazekage of Suna, and I don't dare to send it with some birds. Your mission is to deliver it, _safely_, to him without loosing it and get back when he has a reply ready for you."

"What does the message say?" Shikamaru asked, looking and sounding lazy but I knew he _knew _how serious the mission was.

"As I said, it is a very important message. It's highly confidential and I can sadly not tell it to you. Now, here's the message and off you go!"

She practically showed us out of the office and after we had a short moment to realise what just happened, we agreed to meet at the gate in an hour.

"_We met at the appointed time, heading to Suna where the Kazekage lived, and met many dangers on the way. We often had to hide from thieves and rogue ninjas who owned the road. Travelling to Suna takes usually around three days; we barely managed four, arriving late, when it was close to midnight."_

"_Why did it take so long!?"_

"_As I said, it was dangerous, really dangerous. We hid from thieves but we didn't always manage to stay hidden. More often than not we had to engage in battle, and the opponents were tough to beat."_

"_Did you loose your sight then?" _

"_No, not then. That happened only a few years ago, when you were around three."_

When we arrived at Suna I could barely see the ground in front of me. It was all black behind me, and I sighed relieved when one of Shino's constant beetles began to glow in front of us, showing us a path that went to Suna's tall gates.

A few Suna shinobi, with them Temari included, were standing waiting for us.

"This is a very late hour to come to visit." She said in a weird way of greeting, and Shikamaru being our team's leader answered.

"Highly important message from our Kage to yours. Bad road, otherwise we would have come sooner." I imagined he was thinking _what a drag_ when speaking and I couldn't agree more.

I was immensely tired and the only thing I wanted was a bed…and a shower. I probably looked and smelled like crap.

Temari analysed us for a moment then swiftly turned around, while we followed behind.

"Luckily for you Gaara is an insomniac and I bet he is in his office doing paperwork he can do tomorrow." She told them, mostly Shikamaru who was walking beside her. "He doesn't like being disturbed so I really hope the message is important… One of you should deliver it just in case."

They stopped in front of a plain, brown door and I saw Naruto reach for the door handle.

Temari stopped him. "Naruto, I know you two are friends but…you are noisy and Gaara hates annoying, high noises, especially in the night. You seriously cannot go."

"WHAT!? Why!?" he complained, pouting.

It took both Sakura and Temari to restrain him from reaching the door handle again, and the blonde woman told Shikamaru; "You can go. Gaara tolerates you….a little, though enough."

The team leader made a face and asked Shino, who shook his head, softly telling us his beetles wouldn't stay quiet around the Kazekage.

All eyes, except Naruto who Sakura had knocked into dreamland, were now on me.

"W-what? M-me?" I asked, although I knew the answer, and the scroll containing the message was trusted into my hands. Temari silently knocked on the door, and declared my name and why I was here, before she pushed me inside, I distantly heard the door slam shut behind me.

"_The Kazekage of that time, Gaara, didn't sleep much so he could meet us when we came, although it was an ungodly time to arrive. He didn't like high noises and therefore only one of us had to give him the message, and by faith I was chosen."_

"_What happened?" Hikaru asked, excited._

_Hinata smiled, "I met him, gave him the scroll and we had a …special meeting."_

My eyes met cool grass-green and I quickly looked down before I silently walked towards him, handing him the scroll. He took it after a moment's hesitation and quickly opened it, reading its contents.

It had to be a few words written down because he suddenly scoffed, and I feeling like he mocked Lady Tsunade, quickly uttered, "H-Hokage-sama said it w-was highly im-important."

Now the Kazekage shook his head and our eyes met again when he asked, "Do you know what it says?"

I shook my head, "s-she told us it w-was c-confidential."

Without a word he put the message down on his desk and sent it towards me. I looked at him curiously and he nodded, wordlessly telling me I could read it. I did.

_Get. Me. Beer. NOW._

Nothing more, just four words with a shaky handwriting, I looked up at him in shock.

Answering my silent question he said, "It seems your Hokage likes alcohol, and her assistance — Shizune I believe she is called— uses to take it away from her, not allowing her anything. After a meeting here she tasted one of Suna's beverages and has been a fan of it ever since. She sometimes requests some being sent to her without her assistance knowing it, though I'm surprised she sent a team to give it to me."

My head started to relieve itself from my shock, and I said some puzzle pieces getting placed where they belonged, "S-she'd probably sent s-some m-messages before t-that didn't reach you… that's why s-she sent us…"

My legs couldn't hold me up anymore; I fell backwards and slumped down on a chair behind me, and a long sigh was made in relief. I was so tired!

"Not to sound rude to your Hokage, but that sounds pretty much like her." Gaara said, observing my reaction and my sudden lack of energy all emotionless.

"S-she even said it w-was S-rank!" I exclaimed before I could stop myself and I quickly shut up, cheeks burning of what I just said to him.

He was silent and I didn't dare to look at him, still embarrassed that I had forgotten who I was talking to.

"When do you have to go back?"

I gasped, startled, and said, "W-when you h-have c-composed a message b-back."

Gaara nodded to himself, opening a drawer at his side and took out a scroll and a pen and began to write. He wrote down some words before stopping and looked at me. "You are tired." He noted.

I blushed, not daring to answer him, and looked at my feet on the floor. _He probably thinks I'm weak._ I thought.

"You are staying here till I have composed a message for you to send back, right?" he asked, I nodded, not looking at him though silently wondering where he was going.

"That would take…let me say, two weeks? Yes, that sounds about right. Enjoy your stay, Hyuuga."

I was on my feet before I could stop myself, "W-w-what!?" I gasped, but Gaara didn't spare me a single glance. His focus was on a document that held his attention, and I realised when he looked up at me some time later, that I had stood there like a fool for a while.

"Enjoy your stay, Hinata." He repeated, and I could clearly hear his dismissal. I got my head back together and summed myself enough to utter a quick "T-thank you!" before hurriedly leaving his office.

"_It took me a while to realise it, but the Kazekage of Suna, Gaara Sabaku, called me by my first name….and, I just got a vacation."_

"_Something happened during the vacation, right?" Hikaru asked, hearing her breath quicken as she nodded. "What?"_

"_I…fell in love."_

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**.-.**

**What do you guys think!? Did you like how Gaara is? Is he very OOC? I may have made him far less emotional than he actually is but...neh. It's a few changes in his background in this fic, so hopefully it will make sense later why he is like he is... **

** Did you like Hinata? O.o I haven't really seen Naruto in a while, and I have completely forgotten how she stutter but.. I don't think its _too_ different...she's maybe a bit more tougher?...**

**Please tell me what you think. Feedback is seriously appreciated. :D  
**

**Until next time: Bye~! :D**


	3. Chapter 2

**3/15 Well, a new chapter is up!**

**Thank you so much _daydreamer102308, breadmelon, KaOrU HiMuRa24, xXYour DoomXx_, Guest and sumo is for your lovely reviews! :D**

**And thank you all for favoring and following this fic! :D **

**And with that, let the story go on! **

**Read and enjoy~!**

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"_When I had gotten out of Gaara's office I had to stop for a second to understand what just happened. My teammates and Temari waited impatiently for me to answer their many questions."_

"_What did you tell them?"_

"_That the Kazekage just gave us a two weeks vacation."_

"_Did you tell them what the message said?"_

_Hinata laughed, "I was going to but decided against it at the last second. I had the feeling Naruto would not act well if he found out."_

"Hinata," Sakura asked me as Temari had showed us where we were going to sleep during our stay there, "are you really sure Gaara meant we could have a vacation? You haven't just misheard him?"

We were sitting on each bed, looking around the room we were to share. The guys had gotten a room some doors away from us but we could still hear Naruto shout "Dibbs by the window!" followed by a "Shut up, Naruto! It's late" from Shikamaru.

I nodded to Sakura's question, "H-he said composing an r-reply wouldn't take long." I half-lied, "And w-we looked tired, so he s-said we could have a t-two weeks vacation."

"Are you really sure he said _vacation_?"

I had to think there, frowning a bit, "h-he didn't really say v-vacation. But he did s-say 'enjoy your stay'."

After taking in the new information Sakura simply shrugged, "I won't complain about some free time. I think we deserve it, don't you?" she smiled towards me, collecting new clothes and a bag I guessed held shampoo and other things Sakura needed before she went to the bathroom. "Is it okay I take a shower first?"

I simply nodded; the bathroom door got shut right after.

"_Next day we shared a breakfast together with the Sand siblings, though Gaara wasn't there. Temari excused him and said he wasn't really a morning person. Naruto complained but except from that, we accepted the news and we shared a nice meal together."_

"_Huh…I'm not either a morning person. Mom has to drag me out of bed or I won't get up."_

_Hinata laughed of that and said, "Oh that brings up memories. Your mom was like that to." _

"_She was!?" Hikaru's eyes was wide, "she hasn't told me that…."_

"_Really, but she was. I once threw water on her to get her to wake up." _

_Hikaru laughed, but stopped immediately afterwards and asked his grandmother. "What happened after the breakfast?"_

"_Kankuro and Temari were happy getting to know us afterwards, they hadn't met us in years. And when we were done eating they acted like guides and showed us around the building and was going to show us around Suna when Gaara…the Kazekage met us."_

"Yo, Gaara! How're you doing? I was going to meet you yesterday but I wasn't allowed! Something about being NOSY! Sakura-chan even hit me!"

Gaara blinked but showed no other reaction. He wasn't looking at Naruto, and I wondered if he was even listening. If Naruto noticed he didn't comment on it, he just continued rambling, loudly, and only stopped when Sakura hit him and growled, "Shut up, you're giving everyone migraine!"

Gaara was wearing his Kazekage robe and looked at all of us without saying anything, when his eyes met mine my heart made a jump and it took a while for me to understand why.

"…I hope you are all enjoying your stay…" he said at last, we respectfully said we did, and Temari and Kankuro found the hint to leave.

"Have I told you about this ice cream shop that sells every imaginary flavour possible?"

Naruto's head perked up, "even ramen?"

"Every _good _flavour." Kankuro said dryly and made a face, "I doubt ramen ice cream tastes good."

He left following a fuming Naruto, and shortly Shikamaru, Temari, Sakura and Shino. I was going to follow but found myself looking shyly at the Kazekage and had a sudden urge to say some_thing _to him.

"…T-thank you for l-letting us stay h-here." I said lamely, not finding anything else to say to him.

"…Have you told them about the content of Tsunade's message?"

I shook my head, "I…I'm not s-sure how they w-will take the n-news."

He nodded; being pleased with my answer, though he's face didn't show it the slightest. "Of that I know of Naruto…not so well."

I blushed of the mention of my crush's name but otherwise stayed silent, unsure of what to say.

Gaara noticed my silence, and probably my flushed cheeks, but didn't comment and a silence that was either awkward or good fell between us.

At last, figuring out someone could come at any moment to get me when they noticed I weren't with my team, I started, "I…I-"

"I hope you and your team enjoy your stay here, Hinata, and that we can meet again soon." His voice was all neutral but I just knew he meant it with all his heart.

I nodded, bowed, and smiled a small smile, "I-I know we w-will." Our eyes met again, and I had a mini heart attack which ended when he looked down as he made a small bow and shortly afterwards made his way back to his office.

I stood looking after him for a moment, but blinked away from my thoughts as I heard Sakura's voice.

"Hinata! There you are… why aren't you coming? I saw they had cinnamon-flavoured ice cream at the shop! Come on, before Naruto wrecks the shop in rage."

"…w-why is N-Naruto-kun so m-mad?"

"Apparently, the shop assistant shares the same dislike of ramen as Kankuro…and, well…you know how Naruto reacted to that." She breathed in and out, as if trying to control her own rage, "so come on! It would be embarrassing if Gaara has to throw us out of Suna because of really high expenses."

She paused and looked at me closely. "Hey, Hinata…is something wrong? You don't look well. Are you tired? Do you want to lie down?"

I shook my head, telling her I was fine. She didn't look convinced, "are you sure? Have you talked to Gaara, did you talk together? Did he say anything bad? Did you misunderstand what he said? We aren't going to have a vacation _right?"_ she looked like she didn't dare hearing my answer.

I quickly reassured her that wasn't the case, and many more things I needed to clarify before she seemed to believe me.

She sighed relieved at last, and I silently did the same.

"Well, come on then! If we don't hurry, who knows what Naruto will do to the shop?"

As in cue we heard an explosion, and we hurried away and towards the area where dark smoke was oozing up in the air.

"_After I had shared a short conversation with Gaara, and after a long day exploring the village and was lying in my bed thinking through the day I realised something was going to happen."_

"_W-what!?" Hikaru asked, shaking in curiosity._

"_I realised…that in these two weeks I was going to fall in love…" her face shifted into pain, and Hikaru wondered why._

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**Well, what do you think? Something is going to happen soon, I can't wait to post the next chapter! **

**Umm, this was more a filler chapter and I get the feeling its a bit fast. I can assure you though, that it will get better and I hope you will continue reading it as the plot gets better.  
**

**Until the next chapter, Bye~! :D  
**


	4. Chapter 3

**3/18  
**

**A new chapter is up! :D**

**Thank you so much _xXYour DoomXx _and _Wolfu5 _for the lovely reviews and thank you all for favoriting and following this fic! **

**Not much to say...other than:  
**

**Read and Enjoy~!**

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_"In the second day in Suna we shared a breakfast similar as the one before only that the Kazekage came when I was going to excuse myself."_

Naruto was the first to notice him, "You have to wake up earlier, Gaara, or you will miss us!"

I looked up shortly afterwards, meeting his gaze for a brief moment before he averted his and replied Naruto.

"I didn't sleep." He said and said no more, I noticed Temari and Kankuro tense before relaxing and I wondered what was truly so wrong with that sentence.

Naruto scratched his head embarrassed, "Hehe…sorry 'bout that. But that doesn't give you a reason not to eat breakfast!"

Gaara blinked, but instead of saying anything, he went to a chair and sat down, as in cue a servant came giving him a plate of his favourite food.

An awkward silence occurred, everyone busying ourselves by eating our breakfast, and slowly calm enclosed around us.

Shikamaru and Temari were hunched together muttering to each other, and Shino and Kankuro were talking about people judging them of what they loved.

"Hey, Gaara…" Naruto asked, "What did the message from Granny Tsunade say?"

Everyone stopped talking, and my heart didn't beat for a while. Gaara paused from putting a fork full of noodles in his mouth for a split second, but composed himself and eat it before replying.

His eyes travelled over the table, noticing the sudden silence and our eyes met for a second, and…I didn't know what he saw in them, but they stayed there with mine for a brief second longer than when he looked at the others.

"…That's highly confidential, Naruto."

Said boy did not like that answer, "Gaara." He growled, "You can not say those things to my face! I'm your buddy and soon Hokage so I have all the rights to-" and then he stopped, as if realisation came to him, "...Its debts, right? Did she play too many games last time she was here? Was that a threat message? Or…"

It looked like he didn't want to finish that sentence, and moments passed without any word, his shoulders slumbering down and Naruto looked defeated…and pale.

"…Naruto…are you okay?" Sakura asked cautiously. Every pair of eyes was on him, except Gaara, who was, though his face didn't show it, relieved that Naruto stopped asking. I could barely see his constant frown lessen, although just a bit.

"Naruto…are you okay?

Sakura had to ask Naruto that question two more times before his mind registered it. He blinked, and blinked again. His cheeks flushed red and then pale again, I had never seen anyone get that reaction before. All in all, it looked like he had a fever.

"I…" he stopped himself, shoulders moving slightly and when his eyes met ours again, they were determined. "It's nothing…I…eh…" he scratched his head, as in embarrassment, though he didn't fool any of us, "I just…thought of something. It's actually nothing serious. I just… imagined something I rather not."

During his talk his eyes never met mine… or Gaara and when his speech was finished, and he did, he blushed like mad.

An awkward silence occurred; every one of us wondered what he'd thought. And when I later thought of it, I did not find an answer.

"_A weird scene happened, and when our shock had disappeared and the rest of the meal was eaten, we said our byes and left…"_

_Hikaru noticed his grandmother's sudden silence, "What happened?" _

"_Well…I shared some words with Gaara….And we had a silent agreement."_

Sakura and the other in my team had left and I was going to follow them when I felt some grains of sand thug on my sweater. I turned around, meeting his green gaze and I realised he silently beckoned me closer.

I did, stepping behind the chair I had sat on. We looked at each other, no one made a move, but I couldn't keep his look for very long and looked away, blushing weakly.

"D-d-do you know…what Naruto i-imagined?"

"Why are you blushing?" we asked at the same time. We blinked, I showing my surprise before I stuttered out something completely senseless.

When I realised I just said a bunch of nothing, I closed my mouth and looked away, my cheeks increasing in colour.

"No…I don't know what Naruto imagined. I prefer not to know."

A silence passed, him looking expectantly at me if I understood the small tint of his head to the side and his eyes on me correctly.

It took a while before I understood what he meant, "Um..I-I'm just not-"

"Are you scared of me?" he cut in, and I couldn't see if he looked sad or not by the question.

"N-no, no!" I said quickly, shaking my head as if what I said couldn't say enough, "I-I'm not scared o-of you. I-"

"Then why are you stuttering?"

I paused, not many spoke about my little problem of speech directly, and it took a moment for me to gather myself after the shock to utter a reply.

"I…I just… I just d-don't l-like_ attentionverymuch_!" I confessed at last, the last words said so quick I would be surprised if he was capable to understand me.

He blinked; a sign of surprise I believed, "Attention by me... Because I'm Kazekage?" he asked.

"N-n-… I just d-don't like attention in general, Kazekage-sama." I hurriedly added, embarrassed of my lack of addresses when talking to him. Father would not be pleased if he heard me.

"Aren't you the heiress of the Hyuuga-clan?"

I nodded, "I'm w-waiting for my sister to g-get old enough so that she c-can take my place." I was surprised I didn't stutter much, but then again I wasn't looking at him, my eyes set on the floor of nicely carved sandstone. It didn't help that my voice was close to whispering either.

I was surprised if he even heard me.

He nodded. "You don't need to call me 'Kazekage-sama'; you're a friend of Naruto after all."

I paused, unsure of what to say. "W-what do you w-want me to c-call you t-then?"

He shrugged, "whatever you want to call me."

I bit my lips, and pushed the words out. "T-then you don't n-need to call m-me 'Hyuuga' or 'Hyuuga-sama'. You're an f-friend of Naruto after all."

Gaara's eyes glittered if not my eyes fooled me, and his lips twitched slightly upwards.

"Then I won't, Hinata." He looked amused, and slightly interested, but of what I didn't know.

I managed a small smile through my sudden shock, "M-me neither, K-Ka…Gaara."

A moment went by just looking at each other, me with rosy cheeks and him with the tiniest hint of a smile on his lips.

I couldn't hold his gaze for long, and my breath was not rhythmic when my eyes landed on the floor under me.

"I hope to see you again later, Hinata."

My eyes went up by his words and I lost my ability to breathe due to his sea green eyes. It took a while before I tore my eyes off him and managed a soft, "I-I hope it to…, Gaara."

"I'm happy to hear that." he said, but when I looked up he was all gone.

"…_I met Gaara many times after that…"_

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**Well, things are getting interesting now! :3**

**Though I think I have to clear something up. I know Gaara has only called Hinata 'Hyuuga' once or twice in this fic, so the "Don't call me 'Hyuuga' or 'Hyuuga-sama'"- sentence doesn't make much sense. And to be honest, it doesn't to me either. I wanted Hinata to be a bit 'tough' and for you readers to understand/see where Gaara first becomes interested in her.  
**

**I also wanted you to know that they're older than in the anime and that Hinata isn't completely the same shy, stuttering girl she is there...in this fic she got some more guts, though no matter how small the changes is. :p  
**

**I hope to see you again in the next chapter! :D**

**Until then, bye~!**


	5. Chapter 4

**3/23**

**A new chapter! :D**

**Thank you so much _xXYour DoomXx, happy onion 35 _and _breadmelon _for the lovely reviews and thank you all for the favorites and follows. :D **

**I can finally say the plot begins to start...I've been waiting excitedly to post it, and I hope you will like it.**

**Read and Enjoy~!**

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"_I had just processed the small conversation between me and Gaara when Sakura found me again. I used the rest of the day looking around town and helping her with her shopping. When we got back, my arms were sore from holding so many paper bags, and I went out to get a bit fresh air before I went to bed."_

"…_What happened?" Hikaru asked, sensing his grandmother's sudden silence._

"_I met him again. Gaara…and another interesting conversation happened."_

I was looking through a window that showed an incredible beautiful garden with flowers I had never seen before. They held such vibrant colours a startled gasp slipped my lips and with that I noticed someone else looking out the same window as me.

"Ka...G-Gaara!?" I exclaimed surprised, and I blushed when he looked at me.

"You can't sleep?" he asked.

I shook my head, "I…I j-just needed s-some air."

His lips twitched, "I think its more air outside."

I was so embarrassed I stuttered something meaningless and when I understood that I shut my mouth and focused my eyes on the garden outside and hoped the redness would leave my cheeks.

I saw Gaara direct his eyes on the garden as well and a moment went by without any words.

"You like the garden?"

I looked at him, surprised, but his attention was only on the beautiful view. I nodded, and remembered he couldn't see me. My cheeks were rosy as I said, "…y-yes, I do. I-Its breath-taking! I-I have never seen such a-a garden before." I confessed, slightly breathless. I saw Gaara turn his eyes on me for a second before he redirected them on what we were speaking about.

"_When I asked him a question, Gaara told me about his mother who had loved flowers deeply."_

"D-do you like the garden?"

He nodded, and said after a while, "My…mother had a big love for gardens and used to plant as good as every plant she saw while she lived. I…I guess I have gotten my fascination of it from her…" he turned silent, grave, and I just knew it was something he hadn't spoken about in a while. Maybe he didn't want to…

"Y-you don't need to s-speak about it if you d-don't want to."

I couldn't read his eyes and I wondered what he thought. I looked away from him in the end, watching the many flowers instead.

"H-how…"

"I just d-"

We both stopped, looking surprised at each other, and a small laugh slipped my lips while something of amusement flew passed his eyes.

"…Second time today, huh?" he asked, and I simply nodded, a small smile on my lips. My cheeks were on fire and I had the feeling they would be like that for a while, though I found myself not caring at all.

"W-w-what were you going to say…, Gaara?"

He thought for a moment before he remembered it, "…I just don't have many good childhood memories with her, my mother, and when I think about them I always remember something bad…"

"…oh…" I was sad just thinking about what he may have experienced and looked away when he asked me what I was going to ask back then.

"I…it w-was something a-about her…" I bit my lips, and didn't dare to meet his eyes.

"…what?"

I looked up, surprised. I had waited for a decline straight ahead; it really looked like he wanted to change the subject but... He was as impassive as ever, though slightly tense and... Hurt?

I shook my head, "I-I don't w-wa-"

"What were you going to ask, Hinata?"

By one quick glance at him I knew I had to say it. I moved slightly, "um… H-how many f-flowers did she find?"

He thought for a moment, eyes having a far away look though they were directed at me. Finally he spoke, "about…two hundred? Something around that…"

I bit my lip slightly, "um…h-how many is it n-now?"

A smile flashed his lips but only for a moment, "Two thousand."

I gasped, "s-s-so m-many!?" while I sent a wanting, long look towards the garden. Oh, how I wished to be down there!

Gaara seemed to notice my silent wish, "…do you want to go to the garden?"

A blush coloured my cheeks by his look. I looked away and held my attention on my toes, which moved a bit by my command. I didn't dare to answer him, though when a moment passed and he still didn't seem to drop the topic I realised he still waited for my reply. I didn't know anybody with such patience.

"U-um…" I cursed myself for stuttering on a simple sound and hoped my voice wasn't too hopeful when I asked, "C-can I?"

He nodded. I breathed out in relief and looked towards the many flowers and directed my attention back to him.

"A-a-are you okay with it?" I frowned.

He thought for a moment, and replied with another nod. When he saw my slightly doubtful expression he added, "Yes." and made the tiniest smile to prove his point. The small smile didn't reach his eyes and it looked more forced than his earlier ones.

I opened my mouth but he beat me to it, "is it okay if we don't do it tonight? I have work to do and you look immensely tired." He nodded towards my hands, which was slightly red where the many handbags had been, I was surprised he even noticed them. Gaara continued, "Let's do it tomorrow or the day after that. I'm sure your hands are healed to then."

He went to walk past me but my body stopped him and before I knew it, one of my hands tugged at his sleeve.

"A-a-are you sure you w-want to show me it? I-I don't need to i-if you don't want to."

He froze, looking down at my hand as I spoke and a frown got placed above his eyes. It took a while but he finally opened his mouth, "…can you let me think about it? It's just too…" he stopped, looking for words but finding none and shook his head instead.

I met his gaze for a moment, and his eyes looked troubled.

I knew he needed some time alone and l let go of his sleeve. As he walked away I called "G-goodnight, Gaara," loud enough for him to hear and I may have imagined it but I swear I heard a soft "Goodnight, Hinata" as he turned a corner.

"_It took a while for me to comprehend the conversation afterwards and I stood at the same spot for many minutes. When I finally managed to get my bearings together and went to me and Sakura's room…I can still remember how difficult it was for me to fall asleep. I just couldn't forget about his look. It was so painful. . ."_

* * *

**Soo, what do you think!? :D  
**

**What do you think about Gaara and flowers? About his mother? Gaara's past will be revealed later, and it will be different than it really is. **

**You know the feeling you get in class when you look out the window? When the subject is boring and you just want to leave and do something much more funny? That's the feeling Hinata has as she watches the garden. Idk why, but I just wanted to tell you how she felt. She may have been a bit weird so...:p**

**I'm leaving for a school trip soon, and I don't know if I will manage to update before then... I'll be back at the start of April, but I hope I will be able to update one more time before we leave. But if not, don't think I've abandoned this fic. I will not! **

**I hope I'll 'see' you again soon at the next update.**

**Until then, Bye~!**


	6. Chapter 5

**3/27**

**Yay, a new chapter. I'm glad I managed to update it before I leave.**

**Thank you _breadmelon _and _xXYour DoomXx _for your lovely reviews, and thank you all for the favorites and the follows! :D**

**Ah, I can't wait for you to read this chapter. I have enjoyed writing it (you will notice) and I hope you will like it as much as me! :D**

**Read and Enjoy~!**

* * *

"_I didn't see Gaara at all the next day. He was only in his office; his siblings told us when Naruto wondered, doing paperwork and saying less than even he used to. They were worried, though tried not to let it been seen."_

_Hikaru looked surprised at his grandmother as she suddenly laughed, "what's so funny, granny?"_

_A small smile curved her lips, "I just remembered something…"_

"So, when can I see Gaara?" Naruto said, either ignoring or not understanding what his secretary had said over and over again.

"As I told you, _Lord Kazekage_ does not want to meet any people today." She emphasised on his title, not very pleased of the blonde man's impoliteness. She was standing in front of Gaara's office door, hands and legs spread out while she glared at Naruto.

I was standing next to Sakura who was face-palming herself with clenched hands, obviously trying to hold her temper in check not wanting to cause a scene. Shikamaru was of somewhere, presumably with Temari everyone knew he was dating though they never said it out loud.

I felt more than saw Shino behind me, watching the fuming secretary shake in rage as Naruto asked:

"_So_, when can I see Gaara?"

"As I have told you times and times before, _Lord KAZEKAGE _does not want to meet any people today. Not now, not EVER!" she screamed in the end, completely forgetting what was standing on the door behind her:

The Kazekage of Suna's Office

_**Don't make any sound…**_

_**I **_**dare **_**you…**_

"That doesn't tell me _when_ I can meet him." Naruto said, growing impatient.

Both the secretary and Sakura sighed out loud.

"Not today."

"Not today, idiot!"

They said at the same time, Naruto looked surprised at Sakura.

"B-but, Sakura-chan!"

"Come here and leave this poor secretary alone before I throw you back to Konoha!" she said, clenching her fists.

Naruto thought for a second, "If you want to you can throw me through this door."

"_Naruto!_"

Said boy sensed how close his teammate was from exploding and killing him, and turned on his heels and ran away, Sakura close behind.

The secretary blinked at the retreating forms and sighed while she dried her sweaty brows with her hands. She then met my gaze, "can you tell the young man he can be able to meet Lord Kazekage tomorrow or the day after? Lord Kazekage deferred all meetings to tomorrow and may be busy the whole day having them..." she frowned, and I knew Gaara never did that.

I stuttered while I said I would and the secretary excused herself and went back to her desk and continued working.

Shino and I left shortly after that.

"_I was sad, thinking that I was the cause of Gaara's sudden actions and I hoped he would become himself soon. Temari and Kankuro kept us occupied with a second sightseeing through Suna, and we were so tired afterwards that when we got back we fell on the bed, exhausted. I would probably have had a nice long sleep if it weren't for the wind, although the window was closed, tugging on my bed sheet and when looked closely I saw grains of sand lying on it."_

I knew who it was, and my heart forgot a beat as I stumbled on clothes as silently as I could, opened the door to our room and went out. I met immediately sea green eyes.

"H-hello."

"Hello."

A moment went by analysing each other and I saw that his eyes still were troubled though had a sudden determination in them.

"Are you ready to see the garden?" he asked, and I blinked, blushing as I realised I had stared at his eyes far longer than I should.

I nodded and quickly added a "yes, please" as my nod was far more eager than I liked.

He nodded back and started to walk, I hurried after him.

Passed many stairs and many corridors he stopped by a door and paused with a hand on the door handle.

A deep sigh slipped out of him and as the door opened up a new world met my eyes.

All around me was seemingly endless fresh green grass and above it countless of flowers of all the colours possible. A path was made of dirt and sand stones and we walked on it slowly, him letting me see every single flower and me so shocked and surprised and glad for the beauty he showed me.

Our path suddenly parted into two and shaped a circle before they met again and it was the inside of that circle that made a loud gasp slip out of me.

Small flowers of different colours were closest to the path and the flowers got gradually bigger as they came nearer the middle. It was the large flower in the middle that made me gasp.

A single sweet pea stood alone in the middle, surrounded by purple hyacinth, monkshood and yellow tulips.

As I gasped Gaara froze and his eyes were locked on the single sweet pea, clenched hands and although an emotionless face his eyes burned in feelings I hadn't known he still had.

Grief, sadness, rage, happiness, sorrow, anger, loneliness and complete nothing. He swallowed, his body checked in emotions and I did something I hadn't believed I ever would.

If I look back I would have called that my actions was due to who I am, I had been born like a person who couldn't see someone hurt without doing anything. I was a person wanting to help people and I would, not stopping before someone stopped me. Though… That wasn't the case here. It wasn't an real reason for my actions, I just did, and all because of the sorrow and loneliness in his eyes.

Because when I saw his eyes, when I saw the same look I had held myself in my childhood I had acted without my knowledge and had my arms around his waist and my head on his chest before I knew it.

Gaara became very still very fast and I felt more than saw his look on me, and as I was going to let go of him I felt a hand slightly on my back. I froze before relaxing, letting slightly go of my hold on him and I felt soon his hand more on me. He leaned his head carefully on mine.

We stood like that for many minutes it seemed, and I was so surprised and relieved that I could be so close to him that I nearly dozed off by his smell; dry sand and…something fresh like earth. It was a so odd combination that I relaxed to him and leaned more in.

When I felt his other hand on my lower back and his soft whisper of 'thank you' to my ear did I remember who I was and who I was hugging; I let go of him, hands shaking and cheeks red as flames and I stuttered, "s-sorry! I'm s-so sorry!" over and over again.

The look of gratefulness and calmness made me stop and as I let out a little squeak of embarrassment his lips went slightly upwards.

"There's no need for apologies," he told me, "I…I haven't been here for a while and when I saw…" he nodded towards the circle of flowers without sparing them a single glance, "…I remembered some memories that are…"

"Y-you don't need to t-tell me if you don't want to. I don't n-need to know."

A soft sigh, "…thank you…" And his words were heavy with gratefulness.

"D-d-do you want to go back?" I asked after a while in silence, flustered due to how his eyes had been locked to mine the whole time.

He blinked, and nodded slightly and we went back the path we had come.

"_Gaara showed me the garden and after a small…happening there we walked back out the door that went to the garden, up some stairs and passed many corridors and corners until we stopped and I realised we were in front of the door to my room." _

"…do you want to go back at a later time?" Gaara asked and while I listened I heard that his voice wasn't pained in any way and it just was a question.

I thought for a second, knowing my answer even before he asked. I smiled at him and said, "I-I would love to."

He nodded back, his eyes glittering, "Goodnight, Hinata."

"G-goodnight, Gaara."

"_We went to the garden every night after that."_

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**Flower meanings:**

**Sweet Pea: Good Bye, Departure, Thank You For A Lovely Time**

**Monkshood: Beware; A Deadly Foe Is Near**

**Hyacinth Purple: I'm Sorry, Please Forgive Me, Sorrow **

**Tulip Yellow: There's Sunshine In Your Smile**

**I found the meanings on _thelanguageofflowers. com_**

**So, what do you think? I hope you liked it. :D Who do you think made the circle, and who do you think the flower message was to?  
**

**I'm leaving for a school trip in a few hours, and I will be back in around eight days... I will update when I'm home again. :D**

**Until next time, Bye~! **


	7. Chapter 6

**4/6 **

**I'm finally home! :D I actually got home two days ago, but I've been so tired and etc that I haven't been able to update before now. It doesn't help that the school trip was both mentally and physically draining...:p :(  
**

** Anyways... Thank you so much _xXYour DoomXx _for the review and thank you all for the favorites and the follows! I'm happy every time I see a new message! :D **

**About this chapter: I enjoyed writing it. The plot is slowly coming more 'visible' and it's not long to Gaara's past is revealed.**

**Read and Enjoy~!**

* * *

"_Gaara and I had as good as developed a routine the following days. He came and ate breakfast and dinner with us, otherwise being glued to his office and doing paperwork his siblings had told him many times he could do at another time."_

_She smiled slightly, "After that he would wait outside my door at night, and I would wait to Sakura was soundly asleep and then quietly leave the room. Then…we would go to the garden and be there for many hours, and somewhere around one of these nights; walking on the same path and seeing these remarkable flowers we began to talk…about ourselves."_

"I-I have never seen such a b-beautiful garden before." I said, honest, and his lips twitched upwards for a second.

"Do you have a garden back home, Hinata?"

I smiled up at him, "y-yes, but not one as beautiful as this one."

His eyes flashed, but too quickly and I couldn't read them properly. Was he pleased? Not so pleased? Sad or maybe angry? I didn't know and the emotion was gone before I realised it.

"Why are you so interested in flowers?" he tilted his head slightly, looking at me with a face I now knew as curiosity.

"W-well…" I was a bit surprised by his question, "m-my mother loved the garden back home…she tried to get me and my little sister, Hanabi, interested in it as well...I liked it. B-but it took me some time a-after her death to understand why she loved it so much. I-"

"You don't need to tell me if you don't want to." He said softly. I blinked at him, and first now did I feel something wet on my cheeks. I was crying.

"I-I-I…" I inwardly cursed myself for how my voice cracked, "I s-shouldn't really be c-crying… s-she died many years ago, and I have moved on."

"That doesn't mean you cannot grief…"

He said it so weakly it came out as a whisper, and as I looked at him, open-mouthed, his eyes was distant and locked at the circle with flowers. I hadn't noticed we had come so far.

"G-Gaara…?"

I met his gaze; they held too many emotions that I couldn't count them. I had just one thought in mind, though I wondered how he would react to it, and if I dared doing it.

"…C-can I… Can I hug you?"

His eyes widened slightly, and his body turned stiff, but he had no other reaction; he had my eyes locked on his and I was afraid I would faint with all the blood in my cheeks.

He let out a sigh, then nodded, eyes following my moves guardedly as I slowly made my way to him, blushing furiously of how rude I was, how stupid, how ignora-

He stopped my thoughts by having his hands on my shoulders and giving me clumsily a hug. It was so to say awkward, but I found myself relaxing and his arms made their way to my back. My own moved to around his waist, and my head was pressed to his chest.

"T…T-thank you."

I was crying, and possibly ruining his shirt but it didn't seem like he cared. "I should say thank you," he mumbled and hot wind played with my hair as he spoke, "I haven't…hugged someone in a while. Nor have I been _here_ and…" he trailed of, a sigh but nothing else.

I have no idea how long we stayed there, holding each other and not saying anything to end the silence between us. I had never been so relaxed around someone in a while. It was sort of a relief, not being scared or cautious around someone and I had the feeling he thought the same.

It seemed like an eternity when we let go of each other, and I was surprised by how _empty_ I felt afterwards, though I hid the pout on my lips.

I dried some tears away and sniffed a little, offering a small smile towards him as I composed myself and we wordlessly parted as we went each own path. My eyes went to the single sweet pea at the top, wondering why it was there and why Gaara had to force his eyes away from it as we met at the other side of the circle and headed on.

"How old were you when she died?"

I looked up and away from the flowers surrounding us at his question, surprised that he looked both curious and serious at me; he really wanted to know… "I-I was eleven. H-Hanabi had just turned nine."

". . . I was seven." He had looked at the nearest flower but turned his gaze at me at my gasp. He looked surprised at how tears formed in my eyes.

"I-I'm s-sorry!"

"It wasn't your fault, so you shouldn't apologise." His eyes were irritated though amused. He hadn't predicted that reaction.

My cheeks flushed, and I had to take a deep breath and move my line of sight towards the flowers to calm myself down.

"Relax, Hinata." He said, and I did immediately. My cheeks were still flushed, and my breathing heavy, though I wasn't hyperventilating. I let out a sigh and decided to change topic.

"D-does Temari and Kankuro come h-here often?" I asked looking first at him to see if he liked my question or not, and then at the flowers all around us.

"They did much right after her death…" he frowned a bit, deep in thought, "I haven't seen them in a while though I'm not much here either. I began when you came here."

"I-I'm sorry if I have–"

"Stop apologising, Hinata. I offered in the first place." His eyes showed annoyance and I had to stop myself from apologising again. Instead I made a small nod.

He gave me a small twitch on the lips back.

"_I think we began trusting each other after a while and we confessed things that had been in our chests so long it hurt when we said it out loud."_

"_Does it hurt talking about this now, Granny?"_

_The grandmother looked down at the grandchild on her lap and smiled, "A bit, though it is like a weight is lifted from my shoulders as we speak. I have this feeling Gaara felt it to, back then…"_

"M-my mother gave me and my sister some small books once and told us to write names of flowers we knew and afterwards figure out what they meant."

"She did?" he asked, a small smile playing on his lips as his eyes overlooked the many flowers from were we sat.

Through the path we had discovered a bench near a fish pond where water lilies floated. We wordlessly sat down and enjoyed the view in front of us.

I nodded. "M-my sister and I started to compete against each other, and would after a day compare how many we had. None of us won." I smiled slightly, "Though we never gave up."

"My mother…she gave me a book with pictures of a hundred flowers and icons that told me what they meant. I learned them all, though she never asked for it, and I tried to impress her by telling them." he smiled slightly, "my brother heard me practising and called me girly. I replied back that if I was a girl, he was a girly woman because he wore make-up but played with dolls."

I laughed a bit, realising he had told something funny, and his eyes glittered as they met mine. "Temari heard our conversation…and laughed so much tears were streaming down her face. Shortly afterwards 'girly woman' became his nickname. Let's just say, Kankuro was not amused."

"W-what did your dad say?" I knew immediately I had said something wrong. His whole body froze and he clenched his fists while he looked away from me. "I-I-I'm so s-sorry! P-P-Please ignore m-my question! I-I didn't m-m-mean-"

Gaara grabbed my shoulders and met my eyes sternly, "Hinata, take a deep breath and _calm_ _down_."

I opened my mouth but shut it as I realised how upset I was. I blinked and cleared my vision from tears I didn't know was there, and nodded at him as I took a deep breath and felt all the stress leave me as I exhaled.

I didn't know how long we stared at each other as Gaara checked if I had really calmed down, but I knew my cheeks was flushing bright due to a feeling that squirmed in my stomach but I didn't know what it was.

"Haven't I said you should stop apologizing?" he said at last, "so why are you still apologizing?" He didn't let me answer and continued instead, "I haven't any…_nice _…" he made a face, "…memories of my father, especially not from the time around my mother's death and up to his own death. That doesn't mean you can't ask about him."

He looked at me closely, seeing how I reacted to what he said and continued with a kind voice, "I don't think you know much about my past. Is that right?"

With my small nod in confirmation he said, "I had the feeling…It's not the nicest story…"

"Y-you don't have to t-tell me if you don't w-want to!" I said quickly, feeling the blush increase as he looked at me with a small smile that made me get goose bumps down my spine, though not of fear I realized as my heart clenched slightly.

"I know…" he said softly, eyes glittering and I saw he turn rigid and look away from me a second later. He looked surprised…and scared.

"D-do you want to go back?"

He looked at me with widened eyes, but shook his head as he relaxed. "I'm sorry for that just now. I just realized something… I want to stay here a bit longer. Is that okay with you?"

I smiled brightly, nodding happily but I frowned as my heart beat increased when he asked that…

"_It didn't take much time before I realized that I had begun to fall for him."_

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**So, what do you think? Was Gaara very OOC? Was he too fluffy? What about his past? Did you like it?**

**I'm working on one of the last chapters, and I have an idea how many chapters this fic will have in total; eleven or twelve. And since we're in chapter six now... yeah, it's a little while left.  
**

**About Gaara's book: He was seven when he got it, and couldn't read or write. That's why he got one with pictures and icons to tell him what they meant. . . Um, just to explain it if you were wondering...  
**

**Lol, I'm having a feeling "I'm sorry" is going to be one of the most used sentences in this fic. That or "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to."**

**Did you think Gaara was a bit weird in the end of this chapter? When he one moment is looking at Hinata and the other is stiff and turning away but saying afterwards it was nothing? Do you want me to tell you why he acted like this? Do you have an idea? **

_**He began to fall for her.**_

**:3**

**Aah, I can't wait to upload the next chapter! I hope you liked this chapter and are patient enough to wait for chapter seven when it comes. **

**Until then; Bye~!**


	8. Chapter 7

**4/13**

**I'm sorry it took a while, but here's a new chapter! :D**

**It's not very long, and I'm very sorry for that. The good thing is that Gaara's past will be revealed the next chapter! :D**

**Thank you so much _xXYour DoomXx_ for the review, and thank you all for the follows and favorites! **

** Read and Enjoy~!**

* * *

"_As our time together in the garden increased I got less time to sleep before I was woken up. It was just a matter of time before someone noticed."_

I had just hid a sigh when I saw a beetle land on the hand I had hidden it with.

"Hinata?"

I looked at Shino as he approached, eyes –though hidden by dark glasses— analysing me as he stopped in front of me. "You are tired."

My heart was in my throat, and I had to scold myself for reacting as much as I did as I said with a half laugh, "I-I haven't been sleeping well."

"Sakura has."

I bit my lip slightly and had troubles figuring out what to say, knowing I wasn't the best liar. Shino beat me to it. "You have been out at night. With Gaara."

I gasped, feeling blushes on my cheeks as I tried to ignore how flustered I became when I heard his name.

"H-h-how do y-you know?"

He simply nodded towards the beetle that had now moved up to my shoulder and I frowned at him, a bit hurt, "W-why have you-"

He cut me off with a shrug and said, "Curious."

I had to take deep breaths not to faint, and tried to control my beating heart. "W-why?"

"I want you to be safe."

I looked surprised at him, "I-I can take care of myself."

"I know."

I couldn't see it but I knew he was smiling. I smiled back, relieved he wasn't upset by who I had been with at night and I said softly, "Thank you, Shino."

He gave me a small nod back.

"_I told Gaara this the following night, and he reacted in the way I had expected the least."_

"G-Gaara?"

He looked away from the flowers none of us ever became bored looking at and met my gaze, "What is it, Hinata?"

"S-should our…" I had a loss of words of how to say the next word and just jumped on it, "…Should our … m-meetings here at night be a secret..?"

He frowned, "Does somebody know?"

I nodded, "Shino."

His eyes widened and he looked quickly away from me but I saw something red paint his cheeks and I was scared he was angry.

As I opened my mouth to say sorry he whispered, "I had the feeling," so low that I barely heard it.

"Huh? H-how?"

But Gaara just shook his head and looked …could I say… _Flustered?_ while he focused his eyes directly in front of us.

I had a very great urge to ask more but how his teeth clenched and how determined he looked ahead I knew he wouldn't talk about it. I let it go and asked instead, "D-Do you remember any of the flower meanings that w-were in your book?"

His shoulders slumbered down in relief and he spared a glance in my direction. He smiled slightly.

"Not much. Do you?"

I shook my head back, smiling. "I remember a few though."

"Really? What?" it seemed to have spiked his interest, further as I started to blush, "what do you remember, Hinata?"

I probably imagined it but his tone sounded teasing and an emotion flashed through his eyes too fast for my own to read it.

"Umm…"

"What do you remember, Hinata?"

My eyes flickered away from him, and I jumped as I felt a hand to my cheek. As I redirected my eyes I met dazzling green and I was surprised by the tingling sensation I felt when I realised he was very, _very_ close to me. I could feel his heat and I saw a small smile play on his lips as he looked at me, though he was frowning slightly.

"Why are you blushing?" he asked, curiously, while leaning slightly forwards.

A small squeak and Gaara made a sound I thought maybe was one of surprise and he let go of my cheek. I was surprised of how sad I felt of the loss.

A moment went by looking at each other, and a silence neither good nor bad fell between us.

"You don't need to tell me if you don't want to." Gaara said finally and made a small snort as he realised that sentence was one I had told him many times before. I offered a smile back while looking sheepishly away, "I-It's just some common n-names…"

"Like what...?"

"L-Like…daisies, r-roses and…" I bit my lower lip.

"And…?" he frowned now, analysing me as though that would tell him it.

And maybe it did because when I said "sweet pea" his eyes didn't widen and the only reaction he made was that his steps faltered for a second.

He breathed in and out once before he looked at me, "so you know what it means?"

I only dared to nod. His voice had deepened down to a very low vocal, and I knew he was mad, though not at me. As he saw how scared I looked he let out a deep sigh, and when he opened his mouth again his voice was normal.

"You are probably curious of the circle of flowers with _that_ flower in the middle."

I nodded again, and when he suddenly stopped I knew we were near the circle. My eyes flew to the single sweet pea standing there, all alone, looking as beautiful as ever and I would enjoy just watching it if it weren't of how Gaara looked at everything but it.

"Y-you don't have-"

He shook his head, stopping me immediately, and even though his face was free for all emotions I saw the turmoil he fought with himself, though I didn't know the reason.

"…I want to tell you." He said at last, not looking at me.

"Y-you don't have-"

"I _want_ to, Hinata." He said, stopping me again and now I knew he was annoyed at me. "And don't you _dare_ apologize when it isn't your fault."

"B-but-"

"I'm not mad at you." He took a deep breath, "I'm mad at myself."

"Why..?"

Now he looked at the sweet pea, and stared only at it, "because so many years have passed but I'm still not over it…"

* * *

***Dramatic music* O.o **

**What do you think?! **

**I enjoyed writing the Shino-Hinata scene! :D I just love their relationship in the anime. **

**Do you remember how Gaara reacted when Hinata told him that Shino knew. How his cheeks suddenly turned red, but not of anger, and how he looked away from her? **

**When this fic is done I'm going to write a sequel where the story gets told from Gaara's POV. There I'm going to tell you readers (well, try) why Gaara was/is as he is. The reasons to his actions..etc.. I don't know how many chapters in total, but not as many as this fic (11-12).**

**...**

**If you are wondering why Hinata didn't want to tell him which flowers she remembered:**

**Daisy: Innocence, Purity, Loyal Love**

**Rose(I thought of red roses while writing): Love, Respect**

**Sweet Pea: Good-Bye, Departure, Thank You For A Lovely Time**

**...**

**Well...the next chapter will come soon I think. Gaara's past will be revealed then. ARGH, I can't wait!  
**

**Until then, Bye~!**


	9. Chapter 8

**4/18**

**It's finally TIME! I've been waiting for what feels like forever to post this chapter!  
**

**Thanks to _xXYour DoomXx, mac2 _and logan (guest, though...wtf...?) for the lovely reviews, and thanks for the favorites and the follows. You make me so damn happy! :D  
**

**Gaara's past will be revealed now..., and a pretty cool thing while writing was that when I began writing _Sink Forever D_own by Malrun started. Words came so easy that I had that song on repeat the whole time while writing. **

**If an author asks you to listen to that and that song while reading, do you do it? I've wondered that for while now. . .and to be honest, I don't. Mostly because I haven't Spotify Premium, and when you have Spotify Free songs shows up randomly (well, on the phone)...so, I can't decide to listen to that and that song. :P But...why don't I use Youtube...?  
**

**It would be cool if you listen to _Sink Forever Down_ while reading, but I don't think it would do much if you don't.**

**Sorry for the babble-shit just now...:P  
**

**Oh, and before I forget!(have done for a couple of chapters now): Hinata is eighteen, nearing nineteen... not seventeen, nearing eighteen as she was before. Gaara's nineteen. Lol, it doesn't do much change but just so you know. . . :P**

**Read and Enjoy~!**

* * *

"_Gaara didn't look happy as he said he was going to tell me about his past, and when I again said he didn't need to if he didn't want to he became mad."_

"_B-but why did he want to tell it if he didn't _want _to?" Hikaru frowned._

_His grandmother just shook her head, "I've thought about that for a long time now, and I still don't understand it…but he did look relieved afterwards. Maybe he just _needed_ to tell it to somebody, and he chose me."_

_Hikaru was surprised his grandmother knew how he looked because she said; "I shared the same face as you do now. And believe it or not, but Gaara shared the exact same." She smiled, but not one of happiness, "He began telling me about his childhood; of how his father ignored him and how his mother and his siblings were the reason he was smiling every day."_

"My father hated me." Gaara begun, and didn't look at me as I gasped and hid my mouth with my hand to keep a sob from slipping out. I was seconds away from breaking down of how he told it; his voice was cold and I heard the venom in it, but I could still detect the pain that seemed to worsen the more he spoke.

"He used every moment he could spare to tell me how I wasn't his son, of how he had wanted me to not survive my birth because it was impossible for my mother to have a child afterwards."

"W-what did your mother s-s-say?" he looked surprised at me when he heard that my voice was tear-stained and my body was shaking, and he had to use a moment to understand what I had just asked.

"My mother…she didn't hear what he told me. My father was very careful not to say it when she or my siblings were close, and when they were he simply ignored me. My mother and siblings didn't have a clue."

"T-they didn't have a clue?! H-h-h-how-"

"Hinata."

I furiously blinked away tears I hadn't noticed wanted to fall and when Gaara dried some tears that had with his fingers, I knew I was having a break down.

Gaara carefully, _cautiously_, took his arms around me and held me close as I continued to shake, and when I stopped he asked me, "Why are you so…emotional?"

I glanced up and saw he was frowning, clearly not understanding it, and I barely managed to whisper, "Why aren't you?"

He didn't answer and I told him as sternly as I could, "Y-you are _not_ the reason why your mother couldn't have m-more children. It's not your fault you were born."

_"Gaara's father said bad things to him, and Gaara started to believe him."_

He held me closer instead of replying, and leaned his head carefully over mine so that he didn't need to look at me.

I may have heard a soft "thank you" but he continued before I realised that he had, "My father was a very smart man, and he loved my mother dearly. It nearly seemed he became jealous if I was around her..."

"As I have told you before; my mother loved flowers and was in this garden anytime she could. When I got older I began following her, and she told me excitedly of this and this flower if I asked. She really loved flowers, and became glad every time my father gave her one."

He took a deep breath, and took his arms around me tighter so that I had to take my own around his waist. "That she could…."

He shook his head, and his body was trembling slightly as he forced whatever thought away. "It was around my fifth birthday she changed."

"She used more and more time in the garden, and much more time looking for new flowers that she spent less time with my father. He didn't become glad of this…and said worse and worse words to me. Of how I was the cause of my mother's sudden change; that I was the son of the devil because of my red hair and had thrown a spell at her to make her how she now was, that I wanted her all for myself, that I really should have died when I was born, that no one wanted me..."

"When I turned six I noticed something was up with my mother. She had begun getting pale, and became sick easier than usual. We all became worried, but either she or the nurses treating her would tell us anything, and she told every time it was just a cold."

Gaara snorted now, and sounded angry, "And me being a fool, and because I had let my father's words sink in and just wanted my mother to love me, accepted it. I still can't believe that I did. . ."

"Y-you were a c-child…"

"But still!" he growled, "If I hadn't been a mother's boy maybe I would have saved her, maybe I would…"

He took a deep breath, and let absent-mindedly his fingers play with my hair, "I don't know why, but my siblings began to hang in the garden in the end, spending more time with mother than they had before…maybe they understood something was going to happen? Maybe they understood..." he didn't finish and let out a sigh, "either way, just before my seventh birthday, at the start of January, my mother was put in the hospital because she had fainted when working on the circle…." He nodded towards it, eyes fixing on the sweet pea in the middle and not leaving it as he said, "….and, she didn't come back."

He breathed out, swallowing slightly and closed his eyes as his grip on me became tighter for a second before he let go of me completely. I had to use a moment to move my arms away from his waist, and stumbled slightly as my vision, due to tears, wasn't good and I barely saw the circle of flowers in front of me.

"She had used her last days alive here; working on the circle while I watched and asked her why she had chosen the yellow tulips, the monkshood, the purple hyacinth and…the single sweet pea in the middle. My mother never told me."

"After the funeral…after the shock and after some nasty words from my father, I made my way here together with my small book with flowers and the small icons telling me what they meant. I checked every one of them, and cried when I realised what they meant and that my mother had sent a last message to me."

I dried tears away and sniffed a little, "G-Gaara…"

I didn't know where I got the courage from but I found myself griping one of his hands with my own. "I-I'm so sorry-"

"You have no reason to apologise, Hinata. I will tell that when I can so that you'll understand it. I'm very grateful for that I told this to you…I…I _needed _it."

His eyes were staring at my own, and I gasped as he gave my hand a small squeeze as he leaned slightly closer to me. My heart was running wild and I couldn't keep my eyes away from his slowly closing-in mouth. His gaze never left mine either.

"_Gaara told me his past…and kissed me."_

* * *

**So...what do you think?  
**

**Yeah, I never saw that ending either! XD Am still unsure if it was a good idea though...  
**

** I tend to read over the chapter once-twice before posting it. I've read through this one more, am still not sure if it is good enough. :P Ugh, the nerves.**

**Soo..., what do you think about Gaara's past? A bit different than usual, eh? His past has much to do about how he is now...like he's a bit more touchy-feely than in the anime. XD **

**In case you were unsure, yes, Gaara's mother died of an illness. And how Gaara talked about his past was so sad Hinata began to cry. I have the feeling she cries a lot in this fic...  
**

**And if you have forgotten them, the flower meanings:**

**Hyacinth, purple; I'm Sorry, Please Forgive Me, Sorrow**

**Monkshood; Beware, A Deadly Foe Is Near**

**Sweet Pea; Goodbye, Departure, Thank You For A Lovely Time**

**Tulip, yellow; There's Sunshine In Your Smile**

**You understand now what Gaara's mother tried to say...eh?**

**Did you listen to _Sink Forever Down _while reading?...well, I tried when reading through it. And read again with another song on repeat. . .didn't do much difference. :p XD**

**Until next time, Bye~!**


	10. Chapter 9

**4/26  
**

**Wow, it has taken a bit more time than I expected but I'm finally here again with a new update! :D**

**Thank you _xXYour DoomXx _and _KaOrU HiMuRa24 _for the lovely reviews and thank you all for the follows and favorites! :DDD**

** About this chapter...I had no idea it was so short(well, the story), just a bit more than a thousand words. I thought it was longer; far, _far_ longer.**

**Something else about it...; the chapters up to here has been...uh...developments of characters of some sort. . . From here on out, things will happen fast, well, very fast (I think at least). I will probably add some stuff, so that it's not just from spot A to B, but be aware that things may happen fast, quicker than action movies...  
**

**I think that at the end of this chapter, around a week has passed in the story line.**

**Lol, with the warning (of sort) out-of-the-way, I'm finally ready to let you read it.**

**Read and Enjoy~!**

* * *

"_Of all the things I had expected…Gaara leaned down and kissed me."_

His lips were soft as a pillow and barely grazed my own. My heart made a jump and my breathing turned erratic as I tried to understand what was happening.

Our lips parted and Gaara used the moment to step closer before meeting my lips again, and first now did I realise I was responding.

A hand found its way to his shoulder and stayed there firmly while the other made its way to his chest where it stayed fist clenched. Our forehead were slightly brushing each other and a small gasp slipped out of me as I felt something wet to my lips, and Gaara used my now open mouth to let his tongue explore the insides of it.

A low moan rumbled through his chest, and my arms were around his neck before I realised it, pressing him closer to me as he wormed his own arms around my waist, keeping me close.

The seconds passed by and I had no clue how long we had kissed before we parted due to oxygen-needs.

His forehead was on mine as we took in the most needed air, with our eyes locked to each other, never leaving.

"…"

"…"

We simply stood there, in a warm embrace, trying to understand what happened and reading the other's eyes to see if the other one knew. None of us did.

"…I…"

"…What…"

I smiled; we had talked at the same time, and Gaara made a small snort while offering one of his rare smiles back.

"I…"

He waited for me to continue, but when I didn't and just looked at him, he cleared his throat and spoke up himself.

"I should apologise…" he began, watching me intently, "but I won't meant it."

My heart skipped a beat. "N-not?"

Why was I so happy? Why did I feel so glad when he said that? Why couldn't my breathing turn to normal? Why was I so glad?

He shook his head and took a better grip of me, "Not at all…"

**...**

"_EW! You two kissed!?" _

_The grandmother blinked, coming back to presence and didn't need to see to know that her grandchild's face was one of disgust. "Ew, think about all the germs!"_

_She laughed. A soft chuckle slipped out as she took a better grip of him, "Trust me, Hikaru, when you get older you will not think like that."_

**...  
**

We spent the rest of that night in the garden, walking through the same old path and watching the same flowers with the amazing colours, but the change was that Gaara would, here and there, give me a kiss or two before we continued walking.

As I got back to the room, and after a very _long_ French kiss, my heart was beating so fast and I was so flustered that I barely managed to sleep.

"_Please tell me you did other things than just kissing, granny! Even though I want to hear this story, I just can't if it's only kissing."_

_The grandmother smiled, though more of sadness, and turned her head to her ring finger with the long scar, and traced it, though she couldn't see it, with her other hand, "We did do other things…not only kissing, but…"_

We never said we were together, I never called him my boyfriend, and he never called me his girl. We didn't have to. We didn't hold hands in public, and we only kissed when we were sure no one was nearby, and none of us complained about it.

I was sure he loved me, or cared about me deeply, and he knew I did the same. But still…I became surprised when he said he wanted to marry me.

"_He had asked me to marry him. I said yes, though told him that wasn't a good idea. He was the Kazekage and I was an heiress in a powerful clan in another country, and I knew my father never would agree to it. It didn't help that relationships between countries were bad. We talked, and figured out a solution."_

...

"Hinata, are you ready?" Gaara asked, holding my hand as we both waited for the priest to come.

We were standing in a cave some miles away from Suna, at midnight, where we were to get married.

I looked up at him, nodding while offering him a smile. I knew I wanted to marry him. Never in the world had I wanted something so much as I wanted this. I had realised that I had fallen for him, and it took the first kiss between us for me to understand it.

"Koi and Aijo?"

We looked up at the voice, and nodded to the one who was going to marry us.

My heart increased beating while the 'wedding' happened, and I barely managed to repeat what 'the priest' said when we had come to that.

"I-I, Koi Itsumo, will love you, Aijo Eienda, f-forever and always, in good days and in bad days and will continue to do so until the day I die."

"I, Aijo Eienda," Gaara repeated, eyes never leaving me, "will love you, Koi Itsumo, forever and always, in good days and in bad days and will continue to do so until the day I die."

Rings were given, mine with the colour of sand, and his the colour of lavender, and when 'the priest' told us we were "now man and wife" and that Gaara could "kiss the bride" I had to stop myself for not jumping at him, remembering the random men and women behind us that Gaara had paid "to watch, and keep your mouth shut" so that we could marry.

Gaara must have seen what I nearly did, because he let out a chuckle and brushed my lips to his so long that when we parted, we were the only ones left.

"_We came back to Suna after the wedding, and spent the rest of the night together." She breathed out and in, and shook her head, her hands shaking slightly, "If I had known what would happen next, I-I would never have done it…"_

* * *

***...*...*...***

**I _did _say things would happen fast, didn't I? I know what you are thinking now;** _What the_ actual (Please add wanted swearwords) _did I just read? THEY GOT MARRIED!?_**_  
_**

**I FEEL THE SAME THING! I have really (I'm serious here!) no idea where the thought came from, I just had to have. . .a** likely (not really, actually) **sort of bond between them, and this thing was what my mind figured out. I know it is the most random, most idiotic thing you have read, a guy like Gaara and a girl like Hinata just don't figure out they are going to get married. Not when they know countries haven't good relationships, and their commitment may or not mean an alliance, and with that a possible threat to other countries!****  
**

**Hinata and Gaara are smart, right? They don't do things like that, right? I KNOW THAT, but my brain still want to be a bitch and go its own way while exposing its nice middle finger to me! :P **

**Now, after my self-rant, let's go back to the story, neh?**

**Gaara and Hinata's fake names, Aijo Eienda and Koi Itsumo practically means 'love forever/eternal' and 'love always'. I'm actually not sure about Eienda, but the other words mean it at least...I had to use Google Translate afterwards to check...(smart, right?) XD **

**Things that may sound weird as hell now, will be explained in a chapter or two...and probably explained more in the sequel-thingie-ish Gaara story I'm going to write after this fic... Though, if you are very curious, I can try to explain things, you just have to ask! :D**

**Until the next time (I will try to make it up to you, I swear); Bye~!**


	11. Chapter 10

**5/3**

**Well, it took some time but I'm up with a new chapter! :D Wow, this fic is nearly done. It's only one chapter left plus an epilogue... O.o**

** Thanks to _xXYour DoomXx _for the review, and thank you all for the follows! :D**

**A little info; if you didn't understand the ending of the previous chapter Gaara and Hinata spent the night together...:3 The reason why I haven't written the lemon is because I don't think it suits in this fic... if Hinata thought about their night together, she would be like hot and bothered (I know I would...:3) thinking about it while her grandson is watching... yeah... Though if you're a bit sad about it, a lemon-scene will happen at the Gaara-fic-thingie... :D :# :3  
**

**I hope you will like this chapter, and not kill me afterwards...**

**Read and Enjoy~!**

* * *

"_Things started to change after our wedding. If I had known, I would have stopped our nightly meetings and ignored my feelings towards him. But I didn't know…and I learned that love was never easy. Our love was doomed before it even began."_

_Hikaru could only watch as his grandmother fought a fight not to shed a tear, and told him:_

"_We had taken our wedding-rings off the next day, both agreeing that it wasn't a good time to tell the world we were married. Countries were so close to war that only _one_ wrong step threatened the life of millions of people._

_We didn't want to think about what would happen if we told the world we were married, and therefor told no one. We were happy about that, and I never suspected someone to figure it all out."_

**...**

I had been married to Gaara for three days when our formed peace together one night in the garden shattered as he said; "Someone knows."

My heart was in my throat as fear froze my movements. "Who!?"

I had thought we had managed to hide our relationship for other people. We barely spoke at day, and only spent time in the garden at night. I had only been in his room once –at the night of our wedding— and I had made sure to get back to my room without getting caught and Sakura never said anything to tell me she suspected something else.

So who knew!?

Gaara looked away, and absentminded scratched the back of his head, "...Naruto…"

Every word froze on my tongue and I could only watch as Gaara fidgeted some more.

"H-h-how…?"

He frowned at this and shook his head, "I don't know. He only…confronted me about it…" his cheeks flushed and I looked at him curiously and grabbed his arm as he walked a bit faster.

Something unexpected happen then: he winced.

"G-Gaara…?"

By the sound of my voice he let out a sigh, and begrudged took his sleeve up, enough for me to see a large bruise on the same place I had held him on, while he stubbornly refused to look at me.

"He confronted me." he repeated at last, and I hid a small smile with my hand when I realised he was embarrassed.

"W-what did he say about us?" I didn't even dare to ask.

Gaara frowned, though grateful for the change of topic, "he said…that he liked us together and understood why we haven't announced it."

"H-he knows we're married? H-how!?"

He looked now a bit angry, but the anger was not directed at me, "I believe he broke into my room and found the ring. He declined when I said it but Naruto is a horrible liar..."

A moment went by, Gaara with a frown and me trying to understand it all. "W-what should we do?"

He breathed out and simply shook his head, "he said he wasn't going to say anything, but if _he_ knows –and I'm not being rude to his intellect—how many else?"

The question was left unanswered, but even when we ended the conversation and watched the flowers again none of us really enjoyed it.

"_Granny…d-do you want to take a break?" _

_The grandmother felt her hands shake, and needed a while to calm down enough to answer him. "I'm okay now . . . where was I?" she took a deep breath when she remembered; "One of my teammates figured it all out but had promised not to say anything. We believed him and we didn't worry much about others finding it out, so I became shocked of Gaara's sudden silence and withdrawal from me."_

"Gaara, tell me what's wrong." I as good as demanded for the uncountable time, watching my beloved cringe and refuse to meet my gaze.

We were at the garden again, walking the same path, and even if the view was magnificent I couldn't enjoy it. Gaara had said less to nothing ever since Naruto's discovery and lines of worry was making themselves comfortable on his forehead. He was far from calm and it worried me.

"G-Gaara, please…" I said, voice cracking slightly. I had never been so scared in my entire life, and how he acted made me get cold dread down my spine.

When he didn't answer or acknowledge me, I gripped his arm and turned him around, while glaring through unshed tears, "Gaara, p-please tell me what's wrong."

". . . Naruto is not the only one…."

I gasped, body freezing up and Gaara had to take a hold of me not to fall over.

"Wh-who knows?" I barely managed to get the words out. Shock was forcing its way through me, and I felt myself hyperventilating as my mind made a jump for the worse. Who knew!? Who knew about us!? What will happen now? What should we do…!?

"_Hinata_." He said, taking his arms around me and simply holding me while he muttered words I couldn't hear.

"Shh, breathe… Shh, breathe Hinata…"

When I had calmed down enough not to faint, he removed his arms around me enough for me to take a few steps back and look up at him.

"Wh-who knows…, Gaara?"

"…"

I waited patiently for him to say it.

"The… the Council."

**...**

"_Everything between us shattered as he told me, with a voice so low I barely heard it, that the Council—the ones giving him advice for what to do at every task he needs to do as a Kazekage—knew we were together, knew we were married. Gaara did never act again the same way that made me fall for him. If I had understood what he was going to do I would have stopped him. But I didn't…and I regret it every single day."_

"_We were together every night afterwards, and even if two weeks nearly were up, we never spoke about how our relationship would be when I went back to Konoha. Maybe… maybe we both knew deep inside it couldn't last. Maybe that's why he did what he did…" _

_The grandmother turned silent, and gritted her teeth together, "I will never truly know…"_

**...**

"Gaara, what should we do?"

It was the second to last night together, in little more than a day I would be on my way back to Konoha, and I never knew when the next mission would lead me back here.

He was silent, more silent than even _he_ used to be, and he simply held me as he looked at the many flowers surrounding us. His arms around me, cradling me closer to his chest, soothed me and I sighed as his warmth and smell of dry sand and fresh wind embraced me completely. We didn't do anything other than that.

"_The last night finally came…we were in the garden, watching the flowers as we had done for many days, but when the time came for us to go to bed Gaara asked me to go with him out in the desert. I wondered why, but agreed."_

All around us was sand, and as far as I could see with the moon's light, even more sand. A cold breeze played with my hair, but I couldn't have cared less. All my attention was on the man in front of me, who looked troubled… _oh_, so troubled.

"Hinata," he said; voice thick while he made a small space between us, and refused to meet my gaze as he continued, "I can't..."

"W-what..?"

"I just…I can't…" he breathed out and in and tried again, "t-this can't work out. _We_ can't work out. . . I just… I just can't..."

My heart clenched of his words, and I was too shocked to say anything.

"…I-I…I'm not someone for you. I-I'm not someone for _any_body…" he shook his head, biting his lips slightly, "Hinata…, you can get anybody you want, so please, _please_ don't cry."

"W-what a-are you saying…?"

"I'm not someone for you." His voice cracked.

"I-I love you, Gaara."

"And I love you, Hinata. But..., I just can't..."

He shook his head again, and whispered the next words with a trembling voice, "I… I just can't be Kazekage anymore… not when I can't have you…"

"W-Wha…?"

"And even if I'm n_o_t Kazekage, I can't have you…I just…" it was as he was talking in mantra, eyes directed on the ground between us, and it didn't seem like he noticed how I tried to get words out, or how I was breaking down the same way as he.

Tears were falling down like rain, and I couldn't get myself to clean them away. Gaara did it for me.

His arms was surrounding my waist, and crushing my chest to his. He nuzzled his nose to my hair, and simply held me, tighter when my hands gripped his shirt.

"Hinata…" he said after minutes none of us counted, releasing me as he bent his head lower and moved them to my ear, "I can't…" pausing a bit before breathing out, "…I'm leaving."

I gasped, tears increasing as I said, "no," where he shook his head.

"I must…I just can't… in a place where I can't have you. . ."

"I-I'm coming with!" I said.

Gaara kissed me softly before releasing me completely, and took steps back. Steps away from me. Steps away from everything we had.

"I'm leaving. Goodbye, Hinata. . ."

"_Gaara l-lead me to the desert to tell me he was leaving."_

_Hikaru could only watch as his grandmother's emotions overflowed._

* * *

** ...  
**

**I said don't kill me, right?**

**Yeah..._this_ happened. This is what my mind wanted, and this is what I wrote. **

**I don't know what I should write here, I think this chapter speaks for itself. It's maybe a bit depressive for a Saturday, but I want all tomorrow to fret over upcoming mini-exams and _the_ Exam in the following weeks...ugh..**

**I hope you 'come back' next weekend (most likely) where this fic will come to an end...  
**

**Until next time, Bye~!**


	12. Chapter 11

**5/11**

**Holy shit, it's chapter 11! O.o  
**

**I actually planned posting this chapter yesterday, but I...well..., sorta got distracted by Eurovision Song Contest so... But to be honest, I don't regret it. XD Ugh, the voting was nerve-wrecking!  
**

**Thanks to _xXYour DoomXx _for the review and thank you all for the favorites and follows! :D**

**A lot of things will be cleared up at the end of this chapter. And I will explain a shit tons of things at the author's note afterwards...be aware...  
**

**Before you start reading; at the earlier chapters** _this has meant grandmother Hinata and grandchild Hikaru talking..._now's normal letters grandmother Hinata, grandchild Hikaru etc... _and this Hinata and Gaara... _**So please don't get confused...**

**Read and Enjoy~!**

* * *

_I could only watch as the one I loved, the one I was married with, took steps and many more steps away till I could barely see him. _

_As shock finally released itself from me and I managed to take steps towards him, Gaara softly disappeared into nothing but desert wind. _

_I shouted his name and ran towards where he'd just stood. A single sweet pea lay where he once was. _

...

"I don't know how I managed to get back to my room, and I don't think I slept much that night. But morning came and even if confusion was high since no one could find the Kazekage, his siblings hid their worry and bid us 'goodbye'. My team and I left Suna together with a scroll containing Gaara's reply... I haven't been in Suna since."

They were silent in a while, Hikaru processing what he just heard while his grandmother came back to the present.

"…did someone find him?"

She shook her head, "no, sadly not. Different teams of ANBU scouted and searched for any traces of him, but found none. It was like he had disappeared into nothing…"

Another moment went into silence, and Hikaru shook his head and said to his grandmother, "Thank you for telling me this, Granny. It was… sad…but amazing at the same time. Think that you were together with a Kage!"

The old woman let out a small laugh and ruffled his hair, hearing his amazement.

"…I think I should head back soon. It's dinner soon, right?"

She nodded, ruffled his hair one more time and said, hearing him land on the floor and walk towards the entrance, "Okay, but when you see your mother, can you show her in? I need her for some minutes."

Hikaru frowned in wonder but agreed none the less, he said 'goodbye' and Hinata heard him exclaim, "mother!? What are you doing here!?" as he stepped outside before he regained his wit and told her his grandmother's message.

Not even a moment passed before Hinata heard someone walk in, steps heavier but fewer as the one before.

"M-mom, did you know I was there all along?" her voice was shivery.

She nodded, "I heard your startled gasp. Teru, it's a good thing you're not a ninja." She said them playfully, and with a little smile, and imagined her daughter make a similar one, just smaller. Hinata knew she were in shock, she'd understood much more than her son and learned something about her family Hikaru was too young to figure out.

"M-mom," she began, slowly, as she still didn't believe it; "is this story…true...?"

A simple nod was all it took; Teru was on the floor with a startled gasp, Hinata assumed her legs couldn't hold her up any longer as shock seeped in.

"S-so this…G…Gaara…is my real f-father? Not dad?"

Another nod, Hinata tilting her head down to the floor as she spoke. "…After we had come back to Konoha I began to show some signs of pregnancy. I knew I would bring shame to my family if this came out, and I told this news to…your father. Even if it isn't genetically, your father will _still_ be a father for you and I hope you will still think this." She stopped at this, letting her words sink in before she continued.

"Your father didn't pause for a second before he asked me to marry him…" she smiled a bit, "your father was really a nice man… I didn't want him to marry me since he didn't love me and I told him so. But no matter what I said he wouldn't budge, and in the end I agreed. As we told father about his proposal, he agreed as well and less than a month later we were married."

"But…" now her daughter was frowning, "weren't you married to…d-dad…how can you be married to father…?"

"I was married to Gaara, but under different names, not our own. I was named Koi Itsumo, and him Aijo Eienda…so I could marry your father…"

Teru let the words sink in before she breathed in deeply and said, "When I think back I have no memory of you two kissing and such, you know, like married people do. You didn't ever, right?"

"I only shared two kisses with your father. The first one when he told me he wanted to marry me and was one of happiness and relief, and the other was at the end of the wedding, when the priest said, "you can now kiss the bride.""

"S-so you and dad lived in an unromantic marriage all these years, a-and you never told me the truth? Why!?"

It came out like a shout, a teary cracked one. It sounded like she didn't want to understand it, like she _refused _to understand it.

Her heart fell for her, and with complaining limps Hinata rose from the chair and moved blindly in her daughter's direction. She bowed her legs, feeling her old knees touch the floor and reached her hands towards her, feeling her shoulders and wasted no time hugging her.

Teru oh so happily hugged her back, forcing her sobs in despair to a minimum when her mother chose to speak;

"I-I…I didn't dare, sweetie. I was . . . afraid. I was scared of if you would believe me, if you still would care for me. I was scared you would hate me…" she paused to take a deep breath, "N-no one except me and your father knew about it…maybe one of my old teammates, but I'm not sure…no one else knew, and I have no proof, so I was afraid you would think I lied…"

"M-mother…" she took a breath, hugging her tighter, "I…I'm still in shock…but no proof…? Didn't you get a ring…? What happened to…" she turned silent, and Hinata had no doubt she was looking at her ring finger, with the thin scar around it.

"When your father said he wanted to marry me, I had to remove it. It didn't budge. No matter what I tried it didn't move, and…I saw no other way than destroying it. It was difficult and I ended up using too much chakra... you see the after results of that."

She heard Teru gasp and her only acknowledge was hugging her closer, soothing her as much as she could.

"I… I still don't understand…It's so…"

"I know, sweetie. I regret not telling you sooner but…" she stopped, looking for words but finding none, and turned silent.

"I…" Teru began after a while, "I heard the Kazekage…G-Gaara, had flaming red hair . . . s-so it is from him, not father's family I have it from…?"

Hinata made a sound of agreement, "Yes…, you also have your calm personality, and your intelligence from him."

"… I-Is his siblings alive…?"

"Not Temari, no…She lived here some years when you were a little girl, she once visited us, playing with you – I don't think you remember her – …But she couldn't stay here for long, Gaara's loss hurt her so, and she thought going back to Suna would help her. She left with her husband, Shikamaru and helped her brother, Kankuro with a Kazekage's work."

"Kankuro's alive, I think, being a counsellor for the current Kazekage. He's deeply loved by the people, and he made a day in honour to Gaara where the villagers celebrate his doings and miss his presence."

"…Wow…he was loved…"

"He still is," her mother told her, "It's a similar day here in Konoha, where the villagers can celebrate the life for one they hold dear. . . I celebrate for Gaara…" her voice cracked, tears falling but she dried it away, deciding that all her attention was going to be on her daughter.

"Oh mother…" if even possible their hug deepened, nearly painful, but none of them complained, seeking comfort in the other.

It took a long while before anyone spoke.

"Mom, are you coming soon!?" Hikaru asked, Hinata hearing a door opening, followed by a small ding by the bell over it, "Dad and I are hungry."

Teru let out a small, dry laugh, "Why can't he make food himself?"

"He says your cooking is much better."

Another laugh, followed by a, "I'm coming, just be patient for a little while longer, okay?"

Hikaru made a small sound of complaint, but left, Hinata heard the door slamming close, followed by retreating footsteps.

"…"

"…"

Teru hugged her mother once, before letting go, helping her mother up in the process. Together they went back to her chair, and Teru helped her down to it, finding her knitting and gave it to her.

She got a peck on the forehead back.

"I must go now, but I will come back later if that's okay . . . I want to hear more about him."

Hinata just smiled, and her daughter gave her a kiss on the cheek, "I love you, mom."

"I love you too, sweetie."

The door went shut.

Hinata had no idea how long she sat, working on knitting a small sock to her upcoming grandchild. She saw nothing, everything was black to her, but she could _see_ the door open as she heard the small ding from the bell, signalling someone coming in.

It was an old man, with hair white and face full of wrinkles, wearing clothes ripped here and dirt there, telling her they was very well used. Hinata frowned; both of the fact that she could _see, _but also for the fact that she somehow recognised the clothing the old man wore, as he came slowly closer to her, meeting her gaze.

His eyes were a faded blue but as she looked closely they started to change, getting darker, getting green, getting the perfect shade of green that had left her those many, many years ago.

She could hardly breathe, looking at the man who only got closer with long, slow strides. She couldn't see her surroundings; it was suddenly so light around them, and she could only gasp as his hair changed to red, blood red, and his face got younger, now completely wrinkle-free.

She gasped out a strangled, "G-Gaara..?!" as he stopped in front of her, holding a hand towards her and smiling a smile she never thought she would see again.

"Hello, Hinata…" his voice, oh so similar, made her heart flutter.

"G-Gaara…? How c-can…?" she didn't even dare complete her sentence, too afraid that what she saw now was just a dream.

"I'm here to come get you, my love…" he nodded towards her hand, and she looked down, letting out a startled gasp as her hand looked young, with no signs of age, just as it had looked when she had met him, all those long years ago.

"W-where have you been all these years?" she asked as their hands interlocked, and Gaara helped her up.

"Here and there, thinking and regretting leaving in such a cowardly way… I have missed you. I needed to find you…"

"I-I have missed you too! Oh, Gaara, in all these years…"

He kissed the few tears away before kissing her, arms around her at once. As it ended, Hinata dried his tears away, longing in both their eyes as she came closer to him, just being there with him made her heart flutter in happiness.

"…Hinata, are you ready to go..?" he asked, and she smiled at him as they hands locked together, and they walked out of the shop, eyes never leaving each other.

* * *

**...**

**What an ending, huh? I cried when I wrote it actually, but when I re-read it I can't really see why... but to be honest I hope you do... I don't want to be the only one...XD**

**So...a lot of information about this fic that I for some reason couldn't tell in it!;  
**

**¤ If you haven't caught it already Teru's 'father' was Naruto. I can actually see he do it in real life (anime/manga) so it wasn't really difficult choosing him. Teru's hair is red, and when people asked they could just say it came from Kushina... **

**¤ Teru and Hikaru's names are picked randomly, and I have honestly no idea what they mean (if they even mean anything). I just needed names and picked them... **

**¤ I'm going to write a one-shot about Naruto either during the Gaara-Hinata happenings, or where he is married to Hinata...though when is another question...**

**¤ Kankuro became a temporary Kazekage for a few months when Gaara went missing. The villagers liked him so much that they wanted him to continue being it after the few months were up.**

**¤ I imagine Hikaru being around ten years, Teru 30-40 and Hinata 60-ish... Quite a young age to die but I think being a ninja messed people up, with death and so, so her age is actually quite high. . .that's also the reason why (in my head) Hinata and Gaara are so mature...**

**It's actually a lot more facts, but I can't remember at the moment, :p**

**I will update the epilogue as soon as possible, and more information will be told then...**

**Until last time, Bye~!**


	13. Epilogue

**5/17**

**This is the end, guys! 0.o  
**

**I'm sorry it took so long, far longer than I expected. Have had a troubling week, and just found time to upload it now. I'm really sorry for the wait!**

**Thanks to _xXYour DoomXx, _DUDE, chibi beary and Guest for all your lovely reviews and thank you, each and every one of you, for sticking through this fic! :D :#  
**

**This epilogue takes place some years later.  
**

**All your questions will be answered here...**

**Read and Enjoy~!**

* * *

"Mom, do you think Granny is watching over us?" Hikaru asked, looking at her with eyes the mixture of blue and green, and hair the colour of red.

Teru had always believed their appearance came from her father's late mother, but now she knew it came from her dad by blood.

"Hmm, I have the feeling she does…"

Her son had been devastated when she told him his grandmother had died, died by age. He had cried for days before he decided to meet the world again. It had helped to see their graves afterwards, and Teru had concluded it was his sort of therapy, coping with it. He had gotten over it, but she and Hikaru found themselves at the graveyard from times to times, either talking to them or just watching the gravestones in silence.

They talked to them today, Hikaru telling them about how he had been, and what exciting things they had done at the Academy lately.

They went watching the other gravestones around them as they left afterwards. Either commenting when they knew who was lying there, or simply watching them in silence.

"Mom, look, this woman died at the same day as Granny!"

Teru looked at him for a moment, realising he had run ahead, and went towards him, looking at the twin gravestones he was looking at.

As she came close, she froze.

_Here lays the memory of Aijo Eienda and Koi Itsumo_

_Deeply loved_

_Deeply missed_

Followed by the time of each birth and death, Teru swallowing as the woman's dates where the exact same as her mother.

'It can't be… there's their grave…my mother and…real father. How…who made this?'

Teru made a mental note to ask who did, but the mere thought vanished as she saw what lay on the ground mixed with beautiful flowers; an open space, forming two small circles.

Memories flew across her mind, and the most recent got stuck.

-,-.-,-.-

"Um…can I help you?" A nurse asked, looking at me and was prepared to either help me or shove me out the door I had just entered.

I was at Suna Nursing Home, feeling as awkward as I possibly looked at I stuttered the name of the person I wanted to see, and the main reason I was here in Suna.

The nurse contemplated for a moment, giving me the once-over, then nodded her head and led me to a room a few corridors away and softly knocked on a door, "Kankuro…someone is here to see you."

A sound of confirmation, and before I knew it I was there, and looking at my…uncle, who looked at me frowning.

"Who are you?"

"I…" my voice was dry, I coughed, wetting my lips and began again, "I-I am…the daughter of Hinata Hyuuga and your…y-your b-brother…"

The silence that came shoved no signs of leaving, and I had to bite my lips forcing my eyes not to leave his.

"How can…." He said at last, face turning into one of pain and sadness, feelings so old they had marred his skin and made him look ages older than he actually was, "H-he disappeared so long ago…"

"T-They met when she was going to deliver a message to him, some weeks before his…disappearance… and they h-had a relationship…"

When Kankuro made no other sound Teru found herself telling him her mother and his brother's story, as much as she could at least, before tears streamed down and she had to take a deep breath to collect herself.

"Where's …Hinata…?"

"S-she died two years ago, after telling me this…she had no proof, but she had a scar around her ring finger, and she told me about their wedding and what happened to her ring afterwards…"

"A ring you say…?" Kankuro got on his two shaking legs with a little effort and made his way to a drawer near his bed, finding an envelope marked by ages with how tattered it was at, and gave it to me.

"I looked for Gaara a lot after he went missing. I have no idea how many hills I passed, and then a second and third time just to be absolutely sure no Gaara or traces of him were there…Maybe two-three weeks after his disappearance, where the hope was vanishing, I found an envelope just lying on the ground, and two rings lying over it to make sure it didn't fly away. . ."

He found the rings he was talking about and gave them to me, one the colour of sand, the other the colour of lavender, both so beautiful made of love and care, "Me and 'Mari was sure it came from Gaara due to the handwriting at the front…, but it wasn't his name or none that we knew of and no one else had heard of that person so.."

He took a staggering breath, and I did the same as I read the name of the front of the letter, "K-Koi Itsumo…"

"If what you say is true…then he wrote it to your mother. The rings must be their wedding rings…"

"H-How can the sand-ring be there…? M-mom said it got destroyed when she was going to remove it…"

Kankuro bit his lip, "Gaara had the power to move sand…it wouldn't surprise me if he made this…and did something so it came back to him if something happened to it…"

Silence hugged us, both of us trying to sort out emotions and understand what we just found out, ". . . c-can you read the letter out loud . . . maybe it makes sense now…?"

And as he asked I did, tears streaming down at the end.

-.-,-.-,-

"Mom…Are you crying? You know these people?"

Teru blinked, meeting his gaze, though blurrily, and nodded. "Y-Yes…yes, I do…"

Hikaru didn't ask more, simply nodding back and said he was going ahead, sensing that his mother needed some time alone.

When her son was no longer in sight, Teru crouched down to her knees and found two special rings in her pocket. She carefully put them in the circles, drying some tears and sniffed a little.

Then she whispered, smiling softly as she watched the rings, "Hey mom… Hey dad… I have been doing great . . ."

* * *

**.**

**.**

**That was it, guys! Thank you all for reading this story and I hope to see you again when the Naruto-oneshot and the Gaara-fic-thingie gets up. I actually planned posting the Naruto-fic at the same time as this epilogue. But I haven't had time writing it yet, and I couldn't stand not posting the epilogue soon. So in other words... If you want to read the Naruto-fic and the Gaara-fic-thingie then you have to stalk me (ehem...I mean follow but stalking is actually more right...) XD  
**

**Now, other facts/information I either forgot or decided to write together with the epilogue;**

**¤ If you are curious about the letter Gaara wrote, it will be written in the Gaara-fic-thingie...**

**¤ You have to use your imagination to 'see' how the twin-gravestones looks. I don't know enough words or are good using them to describe it for you.**

**¤ Kankuro never really forgot his brother... and he had no idea he and Hinata were togheter. Though he may have thought it...  
**

**¤ Where did Gaara go...? That question and many else will be answered in the Gaara-fic (ugh, I really need to find a name to it!)-thingie I will write as soon as I can!**

**Eeh, that's what I can remember on the spot. I'm sure I have forgotten some things though...:P**

**This was the last time; thank you for reading! Bye~! **


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